Bøker av Simon Brett

Introducing a new but not-so-amateur sleuth from another peaceful English village with an alarmingly high death rate! Meet Major Bricket, an infrequent resident of Highfield House in Stunston Peveril, Suffolk. In the past the Major's work assignments, frequently in foreign countries, have prevented him from spending much time there and a result, there is an air of mystery around him while everyone in the village speculates on the nature of his occupation.But now the Major has retired and has come home for good in his open-topped little red sports car... and what a homecoming it is, for lying spreadeagled on his lawn in the summer sunshine is the corpse of a clown.Coincidence that the circus has come to Stunston Peveril for the annual four-day village fair? Yet none of their quota of clowns is missing - or at least, nobody is saying. Or is the body that of an unfortunate early guest at the village's highlight of the social calendar, the Fincham Abbey Costume Ball?Fortunately Major Bricket's past clandestine career means that he is now very well placed to solve the mystery of the dead clown on his camomile lawn...

Ellen Curtis - professional declutterer, amateur sleuth and woman of a certain age - investigates the puzzling death of a TV personality who's past his prime Professional declutterer Ellen Curtis doesn't need to like her clients to help them sort their homes out. Aging TV personality and curmudgeon Humphrey Carter might have a chip on his shoulder the size of England about the decline of his career, but a job's a job. But when Ellen arrives the morning after Humph's eightieth birthday party, primed and ready to tackle his study - no matter his protests - she gets the shock of her life. Humph's dead . . . and all signs point to him having taken his own life. Did the egotistical chat show host really die by suicide? His wife is adamant he's been murdered, and the more Ellen looks, the more dirt on Humph she digs up . . . and the more suspects she uncovers. Can she track down a killer - if there even is one? And, just as importantly, can she keep herself from killing not only her own infuriating mother, but also her two grown-up children, who all seem determined to destroy her peace of mind? This thoroughly engaging contemporary mystery is perfect for fans of Richard Osman, Janice Hallett and M.C. Beaton.

A brand new full-cast BBC radio dramatisation, starring Bill Nighy as Charles Paris'Charles Paris is Bill Nighy... It's the role he was born to play.' The TelegraphAugust in Edinburgh, and thousands of performers of all stripes have flocked to the Fringe Festival. Among them is Charles Paris filling in at the last minute after a student actress breaks a leg and has to drop out. Showcasing an earnest one-man show in a sea of stand-up comics is a bit of a gamble, but at least he's acting, and with a Charles Paris production, what could possibly go wrong?Charles is sharing a venue with a group of student actors, but when one of the performers dies in a freak stabbing, the actor-cum-amateur sleuth smells a murderous rat and decides to investigate. When the killer sets his sights on him, Charles realises that he must be getting close to the truth - despite not having a clue what's going on... Help arrives in the form of his agent, Maurice, in town scouting for talent, and Charles' 'semi-detached' wife, Frances, who inadvertently finds herself directing Charles' show. The three become drawn into the mystery, and find themselves playing detectives. This unlikely trio are way out of their depth, but when has that ever stopped Charles Paris?Jeremy Front's witty drama stars Bill Nighy as Charles Paris, with Suzanne Burden as Frances and Jon Glover as Maurice. Written by Jeremy FrontBased on the novel by Simon BrettProduced and directed by Sally AvensCastCharles Paris - Bill NighyFrances - Suzanne BurdenMaurice - Jon GloverJames - Roger RingroseAnna - Natasha K StoneMartin - Connor CurrenLaura - Chloe SommerAngus/Sam - Tom KiteleyTessa - Joanna MonroEilish - Catriona StirlingSophie - Fiona SkinnerFirst broadcast BBC Radio 4, 9th-30th June 2023©2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Bill Nighy stars as the suave thespian sleuth in this BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisationLife is good for Charles Paris. He's moved back in with his estranged wife, and has landed a plum stage role as Sir Toby Belch in Twelfth Night. But it can't last. First his attempts to woo Frances fall flat, then the play's director is taken ill with gastric trouble. His replacement, Romanian wunderkind Alex Radelescu, is determined to take the play in a radical new direction - with or without Charles. When a second member of the company falls sick, Charles begins to suspect a poisoner is on the loose - and the next victim could be him. Can he unmask the culprit before this comedy turns into a tragedy?Adapted by Jeremy Front, this engaging dramatisation stars Bill Nighy as Charles Paris, with Suzanne Burden as Frances, Jon Glover as Maurice and Julian Rhind-Tutt as Alex Radelescu. 'Always a treat' Gillian Reynolds, Sunday TimesProduction creditsWritten by Simon BrettAdapted by Jeremy FrontProduced and directed by Sally AvensFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 30 August-20 September 2006CastCharles Paris - Bill NighyFrances - Suzanne BurdenMaurice - Jon GloverKen Carter - Peter WightAlex Radelescu - Julian Rhind-TuttVivienne Marlin - Elizabeth BellGavin Scholes - Thomas WheatleyJack Bradley - John CumminsSally Luther - Tracy WilesBen Ritson - Tom LawrenceVasile Bogdan/Scott - Ryan McCluskeyTalya Northcott - Alex TregearInspector Dewar - Kim Wall© 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. ? 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Jude's decision to redecorate her cottage leads to a meeting with a local decorator and a surprising discovery behind a wall panel in a Victorian building: a woman's handbag! The discovery becomes serious when the police identify the handbag's owner as Anita Garner, a young woman who vanished in suspicious circumstances twenty years earlier.

The latest hair-raising adventure featuring the aristocratic brother and sister sleuthing duo!

Carole Seddon treasures her trusty Renault, and when it is vandalised, there's only one person she will entrust with its repair: Bill Shefford. But then a note is shoved under Carole's kitchen door: Watch out. The car window was just the start. And matters take an even more disturbing turn when a body is discovered at Shefford's Garage . . .

Bill Nighy returns as the loveably louche actor-cum-amateur detective Charles Paris Charles Paris is in Oxford, appearing in a re-imagining of Hamlet by a high-concept drama company. No fan of immersive theatre, he’s unimpressed with the director’s vision and less than thrilled to be rehearsing alongside puppeteers and mime artists.But he soon finds himself back on familiar territory when the actress playing Ophelia goes missing, only to turn up dead. Did she take her own life, or was there foul play? As he amasses a list of suspects who might have wished her harm, Charles takes on the mantle of detective once more to decide if this is to be or not to be a murder case…Scripted for radio by Jeremy Front from a story by Simon Brett, A Doubtful Death stars Bill Nighy (Emma, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel) as Charles Paris, with Suzanne Burden as Frances and Jon Glover as Maurice.Also included is an exclusive 18-minute afterword in which Jeremy Front discusses his experience of adapting an unproduced screenplay, reveals what it’s like to work with recurring characters and actors, and explains the mechanics of recording for radio.CreditsWritten by Jeremy FrontFrom a story by Simon BrettProduced and directed by Sally AvensProduction Coordinator: Cynthia FaganStudio Managers: Anne Bunting, Keith Graham and Jenni BurnettAfterword produced by Ania Duggan and Roshni RadiaFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 22 May-12 June 2020CastCharles Paris……………………Bill NighyFrances……………………Suzanne BurdenMaurice……………………Jon GloverVicky……………………Jessica TurnerJenny……………………Scarlett CourtneyTomasz……………………Ian ConninghamTour Guide/Dan……………………Will KirkWaitress/Izzy……………………Lucy ReynoldsZoe……………………Laura ChristySiriol……………………Sinead MacInnesPete/Player King……………………Neil McCaulTim ……………………Greg JonesCanon Park/Director……………………Clive HaywardPassenger……………………Adam CourtingWaitress/Sat Nav. ……………………Amy Bentley-KleinCassie……………………Heather CraneyCheckout/Fortinbras……………………Ikky Elyas Continuity R4/WS Announcer……………………Jeremy Front

A humorous gift book: collection of oxymorons, amusingly illustrated by Paul Thomas.

A pantomime script based around the "Sleeping Beauty" story. Princess Aurora suffers a curse from the evil Carabosse, and falls asleep for hundred years. With a kiss from Florizel, and a little help from the audience in solving a riddle, Carabosse is defeated and all ends happily.

The ninth thrilling adventure featuring the aristocratic brother and sister sleuthing duo, by accalimed crime writer Simon Brett.

The eighth hair-raising adventure featuring the aristocratic brother and sister sleuthing duo!

This is a comprehensive and practical manual about wood engraving, written by one of the masters in the field. Illustrated with beautiful images, it is both a practical handbook and an art object in its own right.

An untraditional pantomime. The aristocratic Boronski family live in Siberia in the years before the Russian Revolution. Just as spring is about to begin, their lives are disrupted by the evil Fox, who condemns Siberia to eternal cold and despatches the Wolf to kill Babushka Boronski.

The seventh hair-raising adventure featuring the aristocratic brother and sister sleuthing duo!

Elderly Valerie Trevelyan has been murdered with an overdose of painkillers and there are suspicious bruises on her neck. Worse is the fact that the 2 key suspects in the case are her sons, Gavin and Miles. Making no secret of their cold relationship with each other, both had a financial motive and the physical opportunity to have been the killer.

Miggy is a "Sloane Ranger", who has been dumped by her boyfriend Roddy because she is "shallow" and does not care for the environment in the way his new love, Harmony, does. Here, Miggy tells us her story as she wrestles with environmental issues presented by the act of putting the kettle on.

Between June and November 1902, the year of the Coronation of Edward VII, Bellingford Amateur Dramaticks Society is rehearsing A Midsummer Night's Dream. It has the usual range of different personalities - stalwart group members, young lads about town, daughters of local businessmen and also the wealthy diamond-trade man, a devotee of Henry Irving, who is underwriting the production. This man's murder, set against Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee, the new craze of ping-pong and the invention of finger-printing broadens the plot and develops the characters. Commissioned to commemorate Sutton Amateur Dramatic Club centenary in 2002.12 women, 8 men